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e-2714 (Public safety)

E-petition
Initiated by Bethany Drader from Ottawa, Ontario

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the House of Commons

Whereas:
  • Black and Indigenous people are more likely to experience police brutality in Canada;
  • Black and Indigenous people are overrepresented in the rate of incarceration relative to their population numbers in Canada;
  • The annual Royal Mounted Canadian Police (RCMP) budget is in excess of $5 billion;
  • Adequately trained community services can fill the roles currently fulfilled by the RCMP, such as responding to mental health crises, in a safe and violence-free method;
  • Social factors such as homelessness, poverty, and lack of access to resources often are the root causes of criminality, yet are chronically underfunded;
  • Police involvement leads to substantially greater negative outcomes for Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities, such as increased risk for the use of violence and potential for criminalization;
  • Recent instances of Black and Indigenous death in Canada have been as a result of police involvement in Welfare Checks; and
  • A way to reduce the sheer number of deaths is to defund the police, remove this activity as some that needs police involvement, and redistribute the funding to other places of effective mental health support.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to divest from the RCMP and redirect funding towards social services to replace policing functions in recognition of the long history of violence against Black and Indigenous communities and the inefficacy of policing.

Response by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Joël Lightbound, M.P

First-and-foremost, policing based solely on a person’s race or ethnicity is abhorrent, unacceptable and unlawful. It is contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and our government remains firm: there is no place for racism or bias of any kind within police forces in Canada.

All police services, including the RCMP, are committed to ensuring that the people that they are sworn to serve and protect are treated with dignity and with respect. The majority of our police officers perform their duties with integrity, professionalism and respect. When misconduct does occur, we cannot defend the indefensible. The act must be quickly investigated and officers held accountable for their actions.

Canadians can and deserve to have both support and investments in essential services, such as mental health supports, as well as culturally-competent policing. We are working to create the conditions for everyone who works within these systems to take the necessary steps to produce more equitable outcomes and address the unacceptable overrepresentation of Indigenous and Black Canadians in our judicial system.

We are working with provincial, territorial, municipal and Indigenous leaders to respond to our real concerns about systemic racism and discrimination in how policing is delivered today. It is essential for the police to maintain the trust of the communities they serve, and this can be achieved through our collective efforts to enhance accountability and transparency in policing, to advance de-escalation and reduce the use of force and to strengthen the integration of public safety and the delivery of health and social services.

As outlined in the Speech From the Throne, we will

  • Move forward on enhanced civilian oversight of our law enforcement agencies, including the RCMP;
  • Modernize training for police and law enforcement, including addressing standards around de-escalation for people in crisis;
  • Move forward on RCMP reforms, with a commitment to community-led policing; and
  • Accelerate work to co-develop a legislative framework for First Nations policing as an essential service.

Additionally, we will introduce legislation and make investments that take action to address the systemic inequities in all phases of the criminal justice system, from diversion to sentencing, from rehabilitation to records.

The RCMP is also working with Statistics Canada and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police to collect and publish police-reported crime statistics on Indigenous and racialized groups — including on victims and accused persons and the use of force — to inform the creation of effective and evidence-based policies and practices.

The Government of Canada is also acting to eliminate systemic racism and discrimination in the broader criminal justice system. Each of the other agencies under the Public Safety Portfolio — the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Canada Border Services Agency, Correctional Services Canada and the Parole Board of Canada — are working hard to integrate strategies and approaches to identify and reverse systemic barriers and broaden understanding, appreciation and valuing of diversity of all types. This is being achieved in a variety of ways, including through:

  • reviews of existing organizational policies and procedures to identify systemic barriers;
  • modernization of complaint resolution processes, leading to greater accountability and transparency in addressing and responding to harassment and gender-based violence in the workplace;
  • investment in diverse and inclusive recruitment, mentorship and leadership training;
  • engagement with employees, partners, stakeholders and communities to inform policy and program development; and
  • enhancing the knowledge, self-awareness and skills of officials so they can better understand the importance of offering culturally-sensitive and unbiased services to the public.
Open for signature
July 7, 2020, at 9:47 a.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
October 5, 2020, at 9:47 a.m. (EDT)
Presented to the House of Commons
Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre)
October 9, 2020 (Petition No. 432-00109)
Government response tabled
November 23, 2020
Photo - Matthew Green
Hamilton Centre
New Democratic Party Caucus
Ontario